Improving Business Presence

Before you focus on these issues, visit my other post Improve Your Image
There are many Process Servers who have come to me asking the best way to improve their business presence. I will try to expand ways to improve your business presence and give you examples of how I improved my business.

So, a bit of background here. I began serving around 2009, with no idea what I was doing or how I was going to do it. I had one attorney in town that told me if I got my license, he would use me – The only problem with that was he was a Criminal Defense attorney and didn’t get a lot of work for me.

So I had to do much trial and error on things that would work to build my business. First lets look at some of the most common ideas people have and my opinion on how they work.

Post Cards

Post cards are a great idea. I used VistaPrint.com I ordered 50 of them for under $10 and they were personalized with my photo and design. I included a Call to Order and a quick catch phrase to bring attention and make it memorable!

In Oklahoma, we have a website that allows us to see every case filed and we are able to view attorneys connected to the case, I began with an Excel database and started going back a year logging every attorney and this allowed me to determine which ones did more of the court scene vs. the client advisory. I then picked the top 50 and researched their address. Once I had their address, I simply mailed them a postcard.

How well did this work and WHY?

This was VERY effective. At the time I did not know or understand why, however once I had a good relationship with a few of the legal secretaries they were able to explain why it was more effective. You will have to wait till the conclusion of the next bullet point to see the full why!

Phone Call

Since I had already completed all the research from the Postcard tactic, I also wrote down phone numbers of these attorneys. I began calling these attorneys and attempting to talk to them. As it turns out, most of the attorneys are not as accessible as you would think for this type of thing. Imagine this conversation:“Thank you for calling Attorney and Attorney. How can I help you?”“Can I please speak to Sally Attorney?”“Can I ask who is calling?”“Sure, my name is Jeffrey Worth.”“Thank you Mr. Worth, can I tell him what this is in reference to?”“I am a Process Server, and i would like to visit with her about my services that may be of use to her.”“Okay, Mr. Worth, Mrs. Attorney is not in the office (or available or with a client) at this time, but I have taken a message and will pass it to her when she is available.” “Thank you, can I speak to Mr. Other Attorney In Office?” “Mr. Other Attorney In Office is not in the office (or available or with a client) at this time.”

Now that we have the idea of almost every phone call I tried, I only made about five phone calls before I gave up on this tactic.

How well did this work and WHY?

I would say the phone call Tactic DID NOT WORK at all for me. Most of the receptionist were great at Attorney Blocking anyone who is trying to sell anything, even if it would be super beneficial for the attorney. See the next bullet point for the Most effective method I have found.

Business Cards

While your ordering those Postcards from above at VistaPrint.com I would also suggest getting you 100 to 200 business cards. Now these business cards would do you good to have similar images as your Postcards, simply because the more a person sees a similar image, the more likely they are to remember where they saw it at and make that connection quicker.

Business cards come in very handy and you should ALWAYS have a few on you at all times! You seriously never know when you are going to over hear a conversation between two (maybe not attorneys, how about landlords) mentioning a civil law suite. Surprising as it may be, there are a lot of people who are pro se and missing an opportunity like this can be devastating and embarrassing when you have to write your name and phone number down on a piece of paper or worse a napkin.

Once you have completed the mailing of post cards, wait about a week after suspected delivery and this is the time you want to pull the mailing list back out. This time it is going to take you a little longer and more effort but it paid off 100 fold for me.

Now, when you walk in don’t ask for the Attorney. Simply because you may never speak to the attorney, especially if it is a larger firm. The person you want to speak to believe it or not is the receptionist or a legal assistant to the attorney. The attorney went to Law School to advise and direct, however most attorneys have someone who handles the logistics of the business and that is who you want to impress!

Get to visiting with that receptionist and give them your sells pitch, but have something to pitch. Remember, your new and it may be hard to say “You should go with the best!” What makes you better than the one they are using? But, that is reserved for a later blog which I will link to here when it is available. Be sure to enter your email on the right so you get notifications of the blog!

How well did this work and WHY?

This works extremely well! While the Attorney is in charge and the receptionist or secretary may have to consult with the attorney before giving you a go, if you have them on your side and they like you attitude, the “meat and potatoes” you offered them as reasons to try your services will be better received by that Attorney. It may also surprise you when you hand them your business card and they pull your post card from their drawer (it never made it to the attorney) because they remembered the matching design!

Additional Resources

There are additional resources available! If you email me and ask a question I will probably answer you, however think about something first. If you have a question, you probably are not the only person with that question! Go over to GotchaServed.Com register a free account and ask away in the forums, this way others with the same questions can have instant answers. They also have a FREE DIRECTORY there for your business to help you get found on the search engines.